This present invention refers to a new variety of peach which will hereinafter be denominated as the xe2x80x98Island Princessxe2x80x99 peach tree which is a clingstone fruit which is mature for commercial harvesting and shipment May 1-3 in a normal spring year in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California as an early market peach with a good red blush coloration.
In the development of new commercial varieties specific characteristics provide a premium on those fruit varieties which are early or late maturing in the growing season. However, particular early varieties have small size, lack of flavor, or coloration. In some instances there are other undesirable characteristics that decrease the commercial success, such as poor holding or storing capabilities. Therefore, in order for a fruit to be a commercial success, it must be of good size, good color, good flavor, beside good holding capabilities. At the same time the date of maturing must be different from other similar fruit. This new invention meets all of the aforementioned criteria and therefore is of commercial appeal to the consumer.
This present variety was discovered by the inventor in his four acre orchard of xe2x80x98Island Kingxe2x80x99 peach trees (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,199) which is located near Kingsburg, Calif., in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The invention was first discovered as a sport of the xe2x80x98Island Kingxe2x80x99 tree in 1998. The new variety was first asexually reproduced in the dormant season of 1999/2000 by bud grafting onto 600 Nemaguard Rootstocks on the owner""s property, adjacent to the original peach orchard. The asexually reproduced trees first bore fruit of the new variety in May 2001. The inventory carefully compared the asexually reproduced trees with the parent sport, including the fruit and the parent, and the progeny are in all respects identical to the parent tree.
The xe2x80x98Island Princessxe2x80x99 Peach tree is characterized by producing a large clingstone fruit which has good blush coloration and is ripe for commercial harvesting and shipment approximately May 1-3 in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. The new variety is most similar to xe2x80x98Island Kingxe2x80x99 peach tree (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,199) from which it is a sport but from which it is distinguishable in that it ripens six to eight days later than the fruit of the xe2x80x98Island Kingxe2x80x99 peach tree and 4-6 days before xe2x80x98Island Princexe2x80x99 (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,102). The fruit of this new variety possesses a very good flavor with a pleasant aroma which makes it greatly acceptable for an early ripening variety.